Maureen O’Hara – Mrs. Duke

By Bennett Owen

She is the mainspring of my lifelong love of redheads.               

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At the very start of Quiet Man, when she looks out across that emerald field, all curls and fire and statuesque beauty – and we watch her fall instantly and incurably in love at her very first sighting of Sean Thornton as played by John Wayne. I’ve watched that scene at least 200 times since I was a youngster and every time, including last night, I wish I were the humbled champion walking up that lane. 

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John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara were giant on-screen personalities whose characters clashed with an unequaled fervor and passion. She was always a shrew to be tamed and yet we all knew, as she did, there was only one man alive up to the task…one man inspired, not daunted by her fierce pride and independence…a clash of wills and temperaments and magnetic attraction.

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And yet off-screen their friendship was quite different, warm, enriching and enduring…also the stuff of Hollywood legend.

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They starred in five pictures together, three of them westerns…Rio Grande, Big Jake and one of my favorite films of all time, McLintock. It features the famous and grandiose brawl with Mr. and Mrs. Duke dishing it out and taking it with the rest of them. It’s one of Ms. O’Hara’s favorite scenes:

"Audiences always rave about the fight sequence that takes place at the mine dump and ends in the mud. A total of forty-two cast members took part in the brawl, and nearly all of us ended up sliding down the bank into the mud pit below.” 

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Here it is in all its sidesplitting splendor.

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